Things your Players do that delight you as a DM

[Waffle_Iron]

I'll go first:

My players get really engaged with the fiction and talk about the game even when we meet for non-gaming purposes.
My players thank me after each game for hosting.
They chip in for pizza.

[Millface]

I encourage everyone to stay in character and I do require a short backstory at the very least, but I absolutely love it when anyone goes above and beyond without my having to ask.

Some of my favorite things so far:


One player who was brand new to the game rolled a Wizard, and before the game started she bought a leatherbound book with blank pages, wrote her spell descriptions for the spells she knows in calligraphy, then baked the book to give the edges that burned parchment look. She showed up day one with that and I was just blown away at the effort.




One of my players started to, without my asking, recap each session in character on our facebook group page. His retellings are not only hilarious, but they give everyone so much insight into his character and make it seem much more real. Since then another player has jumped on that wagon, and now we get to see two different perspectives on the same course of events, in addition to giving everyone a little refresher before we jump in again. Just awesome.


DMing, when you're doing it right, is quite a bit of work. The more engaged the players are, the more validated you feel in the world and story you're creating and the players you're nurturing (many of my players are new). Any time a player puts in their own work for everyone else's enjoyment it just tickles me pink. It gets to the point where I'm barely doing anything, they're telling their own story, and that's the best feeling. To sit back and just enjoy the show.

[BDRook]

When they compliment me after a session about an NPC they really liked, or a battle that was particularly fun. It keeps me going.

[Tanarii]

Not get their PCs killed.

I'm not often delighted. :smallamused:

[SillyPopeNachos]

Being organized, planning, working together, getting creative with solutions, among other things.

[bokodasu]

My favorite is when they come up with insanely complicated conspiracy theories for whatever just happened. Makes my job a ton easier because I almost never have to figure out a real plot, they'll just make one up for me as we go. Turned a random NPC into a mastermind villain they chased from L1-18 that way once, good times.

[RakiReborn]

Out-of-the-box thinking. DMed a self made Dark Heresy oneshot once where the party was fighting a very difficult fight because of positioning. They were hurdled together in a small place (cargo place of a spaceship on the ground) with one entrance, where the large creature stood. One of the players asked me if the entrance was a hatch and could be closed, so the creature would be stuck. Ofcourse I agreed immediately, and with the creature stuck they could finally take better positioning and finish the fight.

[Naanomi]

When they latch onto an element I didn't put much thought in. I had this overweight mayor of a town serve as a minor villain; was force fed potions by the evil alchemist (the main villain of the campaign) and turned into a giant thing for the mini-boss fight. They unexpectedly subdued him, tied him up safely, kept him fed and safe, and worked to find a cure. Now he works for the party maintaining their base. I thought they'd kill him and move on.

[Steel Mirror]

*I like when my players tell me when they have an issue with my GMing or the way I am handling a rule, but do so outside of gametime or at least not in the middle of a scene. Talking about those things respectfully keeps us all having fun.

*I like it when my players give me the benefit of the doubt when something happens that alarms them or seems 'unfair'. A giant monster that is way too powerful for them to defeat appears in the dungeon? "Guys he's not trying to just kill us spitefully, let's just react to this development in character and see where it leads us."

*I love it when my players interact meaningfully with the environment, use terrain intelligently, ask me questions about what's around them beyond the obvious, and generally treat game locations as more than just featureless arenas or videogame fight stages.

*I love it when my players ask about NPCs that haven't been around for a while to see how they are doing.

[The Cats]

My players were all brand new to TRPGs when we started playing a couple months ago. I am always delighted when they actively try non-combat alternatives without prompting instead of just knocking down doors everywhere.

When I get texts asking how certain abilities work or to clarify some rules it tells me they're engaged in the game and actually doing homework to be prepared for the next session.

One moment stands out: A player brought his girlfriend to the game. She didn't want to play but was interested in observing a session. For the first little while she would regularly make snarky comments towards any immersion-discrepancies while DMing. (An NPC is surprised, utters "Jesus!" "Oh so Jesus exists in this world?" I introduce a female NPC "Wow sounds like a tranny") I think she was just being thoughtless rather than mean-spirited but it got pretty frustrating pretty quickly. It didn't last long though as my players (including the boyfriend) explained that I put a lot of effort into running a session and those small things are easy to ignore as long as some smart-ass doesn't keep pointing them out.

This also made me notice how careful they are about not interrupting me when I'm setting a scene. Having any length of conversation with a couple of them out-of-game would help you understand how impressive and respectful this is.

[Millface]

My favorite is when they come up with insanely complicated conspiracy theories for whatever just happened. Makes my job a ton easier because I almost never have to figure out a real plot, they'll just make one up for me as we go. Turned a random NPC into a mastermind villain they chased from L1-18 that way once, good times.

Testify! I will often have a pretty good idea of what kind of plot twists or motivations my villains have, but my players regularly guess as something waaaay more devious than I might have originally prepped. As long as it doesn't affect continuity, I adopt their guess instead. They don't know it until after the campaign, but the amazing and deep plot lines that they always brag about when talking to others about me as a DM are definitely crafted together.

[Sabeta]

My favorite is when they come up with insanely complicated conspiracy theories for whatever just happened. Makes my job a ton easier because I almost never have to figure out a real plot, they'll just make one up for me as we go. Turned a random NPC into a mastermind villain they chased from L1-18 that way once, good times.

Meanwhile I'm turning an expository merchant NPC into a secret agent mastermind BBEG because my players teased him for having more information than they thought he should have.

I even have to change his name. Gary Onename and his assistant John Twoname will be known as Aldebaran and Something else star related.

[Kurt Kurageous]

My players regularly guess as something waaaay more devious than I might have originally prepped. As long as it doesn't affect continuity, I adopt their guess instead...crafted together.

This. I describe the game as "interactive or group storytelling." I don't know how it's going to end, but the world reacts to the players, the NPCs, and the BBEG. That's the best part, the players engage and create instead of only participate.

[Millface]

This. I describe the game as "interactive or group storytelling." I don't know how it's going to end, but the world reacts to the players, the NPCs, and the BBEG. That's the best part, the players engage and create instead of only participate.

This plays into some of the other threads too, things that DMs do that irk you as a player. IMO a good DM will craft a world, fill it up, then create interesting villains with clear goals. You set up the board, but you never, ever use a heavy hand to control how the pieces are played. The actual story has to be a group effort. DMs who put you in a box to tell their specific story are kinda the worst. Players who give their characters actual thought and care about the world and what happens in it are the absolute best.

[90sMusic]

Guessing.
I write my adventures organically and the characters have realistic reactions to things so the game feels more like another world instead of a predictable episode of a bad tv show. I also never railroad them at all.

As a result, they get really into the story and are always trying to figure out what happens next.

What gives me delight is that they are always talking about the game. Any conversation eventually leads to it. I love hearing them speculate.

[Astofel]

I asked my players for some simple backstory I could incorporate into my first ever campaign. I was expecting it to take them a while since most of them are somewhat new to RPing, but the first backstory came through within hours. Another player asked me how much I wanted, and I said "That's up to you, you could go ahead and invent an entire nation for your character to come from if you want," as an example of the most extreme thing I imagined someone doing. Naturally, the player not only did exactly that, but crafted some light history and politics for the nation. DM novicetip: if you do it right, you can get your players to do half or more of the worldbuilding for you.

I also love it when I set up a situation that I think will be resolved in a simple way, but the players think of complications I hadn't considered. For example, they needed to sneak into a meeting of nobles, because they knew one was working with the enemy, but not which. I figured it'd be a case of a few stealth rolls before they got into the meeting, but they decided they needed a distraction so the half-orc grabbed a citizen and ran while the two female party members pretended to be newly recruited maids and got in that way. Not something I'd ever anticipated, but boy was it fun to DM.

[2D8HP]

This will be a dual post of mine both to the "delight" and the "Irk" thread.

Delight: Getting thanked for and complemented about some sessions I GM'd

Irk: Those sessions were the one's I did the least prep work for and really "phoned in".

:confused:
They liked it best when I "winged it"!

[Dr. Cliché]

When they have long IC discussions about which path to take.

e.g. they recently travelled to an area with 3 potential factions, and ended up having more than one long debate about whether they should intervene and which faction they should help.

[mgshamster]

My favorite thing is when I tell some part of the story and then my players give an audible gasp as they connect the dots to other aspects of the story, and then proceed to tell their own understanding that ties everything together.

[Aegis013]

1. Players show up on time with character sheets updated and remain engaged in the game. Some small talk, side-chatter, jokes are fine, as long it doesn't detract from game pacing.

2. Roleplay their characters in combat rather than turn into a well oiled tactical machine with perfect coordination. The exception is when the characters have gained enough experience and adventured together long enough that them having well practiced tactics is entirely believable, or if they have some other justification like group telepathy and are coordinated by a chosen leader, but it'd be nice if they still stayed in character.

3. As above, when players speculate about the lore and the plot together. If they have an idea that's better than mine and doesn't create a lot of gaping plot holes, I'll probably adopt it. Exception is if I'm building up to a big reveal or twist and the idea would undermine the big event even if it is better in a vacuum. Plus it's fun to listen to them.

4. Discuss with me what they want out of the game, out of their character, etc prior to the start of the game. Some of these are things I'll ask (typically in a "I want to run a game of X type with Y factors included. If this interests you, what themes or focus would you like for the game?), but a truthful response is necessary for optimal gaming.

5. Provide legitimate and useful feedback after a session. It's easy for me to get in a slump when I hear "It was good" for the hundredth time. I'd much prefer "I especially liked the interaction with <NPC>." or "The description of the environments were really great." or even "I didn't feel like the fight with <Monster/s> was fair."

There are others but these are a few. These primarily are regarding playing with people I know in a real-life setting. I have a bit of a different attitude towards Play-by-Post for some of these.

[pwykersotz]

My favorite thing is when I tell some part of the story and then my players give an audible gasp as they connect the dots to other aspects of the story, and then proceed to tell their own understanding that ties everything together.

"It's the moment of dawning comprehension that I live for."
-Hobbes

I've been working towards this style of GMing for many years now, and it's started to pay off in my last few campaigns. Reading Brandon Sanderson books has helped. But yeah, that's probably the greatest delight I get as a DM, when my players figure something out and it's awesome to them.

It's difficult for me to name favorite things though, because they're so circumstantial. Like, I love it when my players are immersed in the world, but sometimes that immersion causes them to rabbit trail and waste table time. I love it when my players cooperate well, but sometimes that cooperation becomes the focus at the expense of other game elements.

I guess my favorite thing that they actively do is when my players surprise me by using my world to their advantage. I love it when they use a piece of lore or an NPC or something to redefine the game on their terms and utterly dominate whatever challenge I set before them, not because it's one way to beat the scenario that I had thought of, but because they legitimately outmaneuvered me. Then it's my turn to be awed at the awesomeness, and I like that feeling.

[Tanarii]

2. Roleplay their characters in combat rather than turn into a well oiled tactical machine with perfect coordination. The exception is when the characters have gained enough experience and adventured together long enough that them having well practiced tactics is entirely believable, or if they have some other justification like group telepathy and are coordinated by a chosen leader, but it'd be nice if they still stayed in character.There's an easy solution to this. Don't give them time. Rush them. Make them feel stressed, make mistakes, forget things. If they can't declare their actions immediately at the beginning of their turn, they get skipped. If they don't resolve their turn at a reasonable pace, also skip the rest of their turn.

You can give new players a second because sometimes they'll freeze like a deer in the headlights when their turn comes up. But even experienced players can't play like a well oiled tactical machine with perfect coordination if you don't give them excessive time to think. I mean, they can plan strategies in advance and execute them without too much extra thought during a battle, which has the added benefit of being incredibly realistic. But if they're playing combat like Chess, it's probably because you're giving them time to do it.

Edit: This has the added benefit of making combat feel 'exciting', at least in an adrenaline inducing way. So ... a little scary too.

[Aegis013]

There's an easy solution to this. Don't give them time. Rush them. Make them feel stressed, make mistakes, forget things. If they can't declare their actions immediately at the beginning of their turn, they get skipped. If they don't resolve their turn at a reasonable pace, also skip the rest of their turn.

You can give new players a second because sometimes they'll freeze like a deer in the headlights when their turn comes up. But even experienced players can't play like a well oiled tactical machine with perfect coordination if you don't give them excessive time to think. I mean, they can plan strategies in advance and execute them without too much extra thought during a battle, which has the added benefit of being incredibly realistic. But if they're playing combat like Chess, it's probably because you're giving them time to do it.

Edit: This has the added benefit of making combat feel 'exciting', at least in an adrenaline inducing way. So ... a little scary too.

My personal opinion is that while this solution is good if the pacing of combat is too slow, it doesn't actually result in them roleplaying their characters in combat. It makes their characters become the players in combat. The difference is subtle, but significant enough to me that I don't think it achieves the result I would like.

[Dromuthra]

1. Getting thanked for running sessions, or hearing them talk afterwards about how cool some of the combats and/or NPCs were always makes me happy.
2. Watching them (they're mostly new) try something new and see it work is always great.
3. Whenever they come up with something truly out-of-left-field as a solution. For an example, one group I used to DM for was approaching a Fae city, where they had to provide a gift during the celebration to be accorded protection from harm. I had like ~6-8 plot hooks that let them find such an appropriate gift or help them perform a service that would qualify, each that appealed to at least one player's specialty, filled with plot and intrigue. And then two of them asked if they could just put together a performance, and my brain ground to a halt as I mentally reversed directions, considered it for a bit, and then sketched out how their new idea would work. Or when another one of my groups couldn't find an invisible opponent and summoned a bunch of animals to literally just fill the space so she couldn't move effectively. Love it when my players surprise me like that. :smallbiggrin:

[Tanarii]

My personal opinion is that while this solution is good if the pacing of combat is too slow, it doesn't actually result in them roleplaying their characters in combat. It makes their characters become the players in combat. The difference is subtle, but significant enough to me that I don't think it achieves the result I would like.Fair comment. But that's usually still an improvement over playing tactical chess. IMO.

Edit: also, you absolutely can overdo the rushing them thing. Like ... I probably should have phrased it as 'keep it snappy', instead of rushing them. The idea is to keep them on edge and not have time to carefully put together the perfect move. Not to overwhelm them until they give up (especially newcomers), or move so fast it results in stupid miscommunications. And in your case, pushing them into making mistakes or overlooking things would probably be too fast a pace. But that doesn't mean you can't push them a bit. ;)

[ChildofLuthic]

There's an easy solution to this. Don't give them time. Rush them. Make them feel stressed, make mistakes, forget things. If they can't declare their actions immediately at the beginning of their turn, they get skipped. If they don't resolve their turn at a reasonable pace, also skip the rest of their turn.

You can give new players a second because sometimes they'll freeze like a deer in the headlights when their turn comes up. But even experienced players can't play like a well oiled tactical machine with perfect coordination if you don't give them excessive time to think. I mean, they can plan strategies in advance and execute them without too much extra thought during a battle, which has the added benefit of being incredibly realistic. But if they're playing combat like Chess, it's probably because you're giving them time to do it.

Edit: This has the added benefit of making combat feel 'exciting', at least in an adrenaline inducing way. So ... a little scary too.

Running combat quickly also keeps players engaged, so no one dozes off on other people's turns.

Side note: seeing my players get excited during combat delights me so much.

[Sabeta]

snip

Perhaps it was heavy handed, but just recently I had the players run in with the mayor. While there, they passed by a young girl wearing a uniform from a distant school. When questioned about the mayor said that the girl was from some royal academy and was on vacation. A session or two later they bumped into a nearly identical, but definitely different girl who asked for directions to the mayors house. She was meant to meat with him and then got lost. My players are now extremely worried about the first girl and why she was visiting, and have launched an investigation on "the cute girl in a white uniform" which keeps directing them to the second.

[Steel Mirror]

Fair comment. But that's usually still an improvement over playing tactical chess. IMO.

Edit: also, you absolutely can overdo the rushing them thing. Like ... I probably should have phrased it as 'keep it snappy', instead of rushing them. The idea is to keep them on edge and not have time to carefully put together the perfect move. Not to overwhelm them until they give up (especially newcomers), or move so fast it results in stupid miscommunications. And in your case, pushing them into making mistakes or overlooking things would probably be too fast a pace. But that doesn't mean you can't push them a bit. ;)
I just complained about the whole "GM unreasonably rushing players in combat" experience in this thread's dark companion, but for the record I agree that 'keeping it snappy' is a great thing to do. Give them enough time to make an informed decision, especially if they have questions about things that their character would easily perceive but is difficult to be sure of from a battlemat or TotM perspective, but don't feel the need to give them minutes upon minutes of flipping through their spellbooks or trying to recall the hp of bugbears to maximize their kill potential. There's a happy balance to be found, and leaning towards the direction of keeping things moving and having your players on the edge of their seats has always been my favorite way to both GM and play.